With a worldwide pandemic making supply chains and supplier and consumer packaged goods (CPG) connections complex, PMMI Media Group introduces a live, virtual event like no other: PACK EXPO Connects 2020 will take place Nov. 9-13. Now more than ever, packaging and processing professionals need solutions for a rapidly changing world, and PACK EXPO Connects offers the power of PMMI Media Group and the PACK EXPO brand to bring the industry together.
Complete with live chats, product demos, and engaging educational opportunities, this virtual event provides attendees direct access to the top suppliers and solutions they need.
PACK EXPO Connects boasts several new features that will foster connections with the widest variety of solutions providers available anywhere—minimizing attendee time and effort to find the innovations they are looking for. An easily searchable database of exhibitors and products organized by 12 major categories allows attendees to zero in on specific needs and schedule live chats and interactive product demos with technical experts. The interactive platform makes live engagement with exhibitors simple via MyConnects planner. At the same time, Outlook calendar integration allows attendees to add My Planner events to their Outlook calendars for ease of reference.
PMMI Media Group brought together its digital marketing expertise, decades of industry knowledge, and months of research with leading CPGs to build an event based precisely on what the industry needs now: virtual showrooms for demos, live chats with product experts, and overarching education offerings.
Approximately 2,700 live product demonstrations will connect attendees with exhibitors. These 15-minute demonstrations will allow attendees to see what’s new, ask questions, and engage with exhibitors in real time. Demos are categorized into 12 major categories:
1. Filling, Capping, and Sealing Rigid Containers or Trays
2. Bagging, Pouching, and Wrapping
3. Cartoning and Multipacking
4. Coding, Marking, Labeling, and Printing
5. End-of-Line Equipment
6. Feeding, Conveying, Accumulating, and Product Handling
7. X-ray, Vision, Inspection, Testing, and Weighing
8. Containers, Materials, and Transport Packaging
9. Controls, Software, and Machine Components
10. Plant Facilities and Infrastructure
11. Food Processing Equipment
12. Life Sciences
Live one-on-one chats will allow attendees to talk directly with exhibitors during dedicated event hours. If an attendee can’t catch an exhibitor during the event hours, virtual business cards will help foster those connections even after the event’s conclusion.
Comprehensive educational content will feature thought-provoking sessions from leading suppliers and industry experts on today’s trends. Information gleaned from these sessions will enhance attendee knowledge as they head back into the virtual showrooms for specific solutions. All content noted will be available both as scheduled and on-demand after the event.
Industry excitement
More than 500 exhibitors committed to the show in the first three weeks of sales, filling the live showroom hours that will run Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. CST and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. CST.
“We are excited by the level of support we’re getting from exhibitors who are eager to share their technologies through this new platform,” says Dave Newcorn, senior vice president, digital and data, PMMI Media Group. “To ensure the greatest possible access for both exhibitors and their customers, we are expanding exhibit hours for PACK EXPO Connects.”
Each day also features international demo hours to expand PACK EXPO Connects’ global reach. International demos will broadcast at 10:00 a.m. China Standard Time (9:00 p.m. CT) and 10:00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (4:00 a.m. CT). These time slots will enable exhibitors to demonstrate their solutions and enjoy live interaction with attendees out-side the Western Hemisphere. In addition, all education sessions will be available on-demand for international attendees to watch at their convenience. Spanish language closed captioning will also be provided for specific content and interviews with industry newsmakers.
“PACK EXPO Connects is shaping up to be the most innovative and engaging industry event this year,” says Jim Pittas, president and CEO, PMMI.
In the months leading up to the announcement of PACK EXPO Connects, PMMI Media Group conducted extensive end user interviews with some of the world’s leading CPGs. These in-depth interviews had one goal: To ensure PACK EXPO Connects provides exactly what the packaging and processing industry wants out of a web-based event.
The No. 1 request across the board was to see live technology and be able to interact with exhibitors during machine demonstrations, which PACK EXPO Connects delivers.
Beyond seeing technology in action, attendees want to spend time exploring new products, rather than existing products presented as new. PMMI Media Group solicited its in-house team of editors to vet what is and isn’t new, serving as neutral industry experts. Together, they will ensure that attendees can track down the latest offerings and the virtual exhibitor showrooms presenting them.
Free attendee registration is open now, giving CPGs plenty of time to prepare for preview week, scheduled for Nov. 26. During preview week, registered attendees can browse live demo descriptions, build their planners, and save items to their Outlook calendars.
PACKEXPOConnects.com will remain live until March 31, 2021, offering additional opportunities for attendees to connect with companies via their virtual showrooms.
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